Search results

1 – 10 of over 6000
Article
Publication date: 1 January 1996

Camellia Leung Miu Kwan

The paper presents the views of an experienced merchandiser on the changes in production locations forced upon the Hong Kong clothing industry by such factors as right labour…

Abstract

The paper presents the views of an experienced merchandiser on the changes in production locations forced upon the Hong Kong clothing industry by such factors as right labour costs. It explores the use made of the offshore production option in China by means of a questionnaire survey carried out in the Hong Kong clothing industry. The paper examines the motives for offshore production and the problems encountered in its use. It examines the responses made by Hong Kong manufacturers to these problems and draws conclusions as to the future of offshore production in the strategic plans of the industry. As such it may have lessons for all companies planning to engage in offshore activities and, in particular, for those planning to set up facilities in China. In particular, significant hidden costs are uncovered, while the cultural problems encountered even between Hong Kong entrepreneurs and mainland Chinese are surprisingly severe.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2013

Hayden Skiffington, Michèle E.M. Akoorie, Paresha Sinha and Glyndwr Jones

The study aims to investigate the production offshore outsourcing practices of SMEs in the New Zealand printing, publishing and packaging industries. It identifies the techniques…

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to investigate the production offshore outsourcing practices of SMEs in the New Zealand printing, publishing and packaging industries. It identifies the techniques SMEs use to organise and manage their offshore outsourcing activities. The authors then develop a managerial framework to assist SMEs in their future offshore outsourcing ambitions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study takes a qualitative approach; obtaining data from a sample of 22 New Zealand SMEs in the printing, publishing and packaging industries that are actively offshore outsourcing production tasks. Data was gathered in the form of semi‐structured interviews with SME managers who have carried out offshore outsourcing.

Findings

To mitigate offshore outsourcing costs, SMEs use the internet to locate suppliers and use short‐term reliable contracts that are managed remotely or by intermediaries. Customer involvement was highly important during the entire offshore outsourcing process. Most SMEs developed long‐term business relationships with reliable suppliers. These findings are integrated into the SME framework, which identifies ways SMEs can overcome resource constraints and minimise risks when offshore outsourcing.

Research limitations/implications

This study is confined to a single country and reports on findings for several related industries, i.e. the printing, publishing and packaging industries in New Zealand. This limits its applicability to research in other settings and other industries. However, it identifies an area of research (offshore outsourcing activities in SMEs) that could be extended to other industries and countries by future research.

Practical implications

The SME framework presents an easily understood approach that has been verified by SME managers who have successfully offshore outsourced production tasks. The research proves that SMEs can offshore outsource within the constraints of limited physical and managerial resources.

Social implications

The study showed that the decision‐making process to outsource is supported by the transaction costs approach. Firms have to balance out total cost considerations in making their decision to offshore (including contingency costs) to ensure that the savings from outsourcing are greater than the transaction costs. The resource‐based view of the firm is also used to suggest that offshore outsourcing means that firms may be able to improve their own competences by providing (through their suppliers) access to more sophisticated and higher‐quality processes.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the growing area of SME offshore outsourcing research, providing detailed empirical evidence of SME offshore outsourcing activities occurring in New Zealand.

Details

Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8297

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 November 2013

Godfrey Mugurusi and Luitzen de Boer

The purpose of this paper is to consider research that has been conducted on the offshoring of manufacturing activities, and more specifically to synthesize results regarding the…

1106

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider research that has been conducted on the offshoring of manufacturing activities, and more specifically to synthesize results regarding the question of how firms integrate and govern geographically dispersed production activities.

Design/methodology/approach

A set of 100 carefully selected articles on offshoring and offshore outsourcing of production published in international peer-reviewed journals during the past 15 years are systematically analyzed. The focus is on 34 articles that touch on issues of integration and governance of dispersed production facilities.

Findings

Offshoring and offshore outsourcing of production is a cross-cutting subject of research. Most research is recent and largely conceptual. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the decision to offshore is often followed by the need to build more integrated operations.

Research limitations/implications

One of the major constraining factors of this research, like many literature reviews, is a limited sampling period.

Practical implications

The paper demonstrates the importance of both intra-firm relationships and governance in dispersed production operations. The authors suggest that new offshore plants need to learn and develop their own capabilities in new markets on one hand, while also developing governance structures to facilitate coherence within a production network on the other hand.

Originality/value

This is a valuable paper for researchers in offshoring and global manufacturing areas. While literature reviews in other areas such as information systems offshoring and services offshoring do exist, one specific to production offshoring was lacking. This paper should be seen as a systematic and concerted effort for research and knowledge in this area.

Details

Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8297

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 October 2005

Tyler Priest

For the first time since the “limits to growth” debate of the 1970s, we hear serious talk about the prospect of the world running out of oil. In the United States, concerns about…

Abstract

For the first time since the “limits to growth” debate of the 1970s, we hear serious talk about the prospect of the world running out of oil. In the United States, concerns about reducing dependence on foreign oil have incited debate over the viability of alternative energy sources versus the oil industry's search for new oil “frontiers.” The rancorous dispute over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWAR) has captured the spotlight in this debate. Less controversial, but more significant for the future of U.S. oil production, are the bountiful “deepwater” reserves of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Offshore is central to the history of the petroleum industry over the last 50 years, and the GOM is the most explored, drilled, and developed offshore petroleum province in the world. In recent decades, revenue from offshore leasing has been second only to federal income taxes in value to the U.S. treasury. During the last 30 years, the search for oil and gas has continually moved into deeper waters and into new offshore environments. Still, the GOM remains the primary laboratory for technological innovation and regulatory practices. The recent and spectacular revival in production there thanks to deepwater discoveries has strongly reinforced this demonstration effect. As offshore oil assumes a high profile in national development strategies around the world, any effort to analyze the political, social, and economic aspects of offshore exploration and development must use the GOM as a historical precedent or basis of comparison.

Details

Nature, Raw Materials, and Political Economy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-314-3

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2012

Tzong‐Ru (Jiun‐Shen) Lee and Yenming J. Chen

This paper, being complementary to existing perspectives, aims to examine the behaviors and the strategies of production migration of polluting firms from an economic point of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper, being complementary to existing perspectives, aims to examine the behaviors and the strategies of production migration of polluting firms from an economic point of view under appropriate decision conditions in terms of uncertain influence of supply chain support and green technology progress.

Design/methodology/approach

Strategic alternatives are investigated by using option pricing tools to examine the impact of various characteristics of green technology development and supply chain relations on the timing of the decision.

Findings

The theoretical and empirical results show that a polluting firm should not consider the option of relocating to offshore countries if uncertainty has been anticipated. It is suggested that, by facing green technology development uncertainty, a firm should be refrained from relocating production abroad if technology develops and offshore cost advantage disappears soon. On the other hand, a pre‐emptive migration strategy is preferable when the green technology is anticipated to be delayed.

Practical implications

A polluting firm in a supply chain faces challenges of uncertainty depending on whether it decides to produce domestically or to relocate internationally. The analysis conveys a concept that polluting firms can be more profitable by promoting clean production technology, instead of relocating to offshore or so called pollution havens.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the existing literature on the evaluation of offshore migration option values by taking extra consideration of uncertainty in the supply chain cost, green technology progress and complementing to studies in a moral perspective.

Article
Publication date: 23 November 2010

Claus Jørgensen

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the area of knowledge integration between relations based upon the assumption that if you do not integrate knowledge between the different…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the area of knowledge integration between relations based upon the assumption that if you do not integrate knowledge between the different relations, the possibility of maintaining, improving or adjusting your product portfolio through your offshore working relationships will either disappear or be severely reduced.

Design/methodology/approach

The experienced journey of four small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) within the textile and wood industries are presented regarding how they change their direction and organisational routines due to challenges concerning knowledge integration within their respective supply relations.

Findings

Different approaches are shown of how to combine different knowledge dimensions within the supply chain and how the demands towards relations management capabilities are affected by the challenges of mainly knowledge transfer and translation created by the strategic offshore sourcing decisions.

Research limitations/implications

As the conclusions are based upon a limited number of cases studied within a limited time frame, further investigations to confirm the findings, especially with case companies that integrate more complex knowledge types, would be interesting.

Practical implications

The paper proposes that when making strategic offshore sourcing decisions, companies should consider more classic variables like cost, quality and flexibility in much more detail and the different knowledge dimensions (knowledge characteristics, learning capability, knowledge flow, cultural characteristics and stickiness) identified in the paper and thereby the longer‐term demands regarding knowledge integration in offshore supply relations.

Originality/value

The paper identifies different approaches of how to combine different knowledge dimensions within the supply chain and how relations management capabilities are affected by the knowledge integration challenges of mainly knowledge transfer and translation created by the strategic offshore sourcing decisions in SMEs in the manufacturing industry.

Details

Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8297

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2004

Fung-yi Tam, Ka-leung Moon, Sau-fun Ng and Chi-leung Hui

This paper studies the factors that motivate small and medium-sized clothing firms in Hong Kong to shift their production offshore, and identifies the interrelationships between…

Abstract

This paper studies the factors that motivate small and medium-sized clothing firms in Hong Kong to shift their production offshore, and identifies the interrelationships between these factors and firm-related characteristics, sourcing strategies, and buyer-supplier relationships. Using a multiple case methodology to study ten firms and a two-phase approach to collecting data involving, in-depth interviews and mail questionnaires, the two most important factors motivating the sourcing of production offshore are identified, as follows: (1) cost advantage of, and (2) availability of labour in, the host country. The results also show that industrial sector and firm size are the only firm-related characteristics that have an effect on the factors motivating offshore production. Furthermore, sourcing strategies and buyer-supplier relationships are sometimes influenced by these motivational factors.

Details

Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1560-6074

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 November 2013

Stephen Canham and Robert T. Hamilton

This paper aims to focus on production offshoring and “backshoring” in a representative sample of 151 New Zealand manufacturers. It identifies how and why firms offshore; why many…

2084

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on production offshoring and “backshoring” in a representative sample of 151 New Zealand manufacturers. It identifies how and why firms offshore; why many increase their offshoring while others “backshore”; and why most firms continue to compete internationally without offshoring.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection used a two-wave postal questionnaire survey of 676 firms, with a usable response rate of 22.3 per cent and no indication of non-response bias.

Findings

Most exporters manufactured only from their New Zealand base, but 44 per cent had outsourced some production offshore in the period 2001 to 2011. Among the 67 offshored firms, 11 had then “backshored” to New Zealand. The main reasons for offshoring were lower labour costs and capacity constraints in New Zealand. “Backshoring” occurs when lower labour costs become offset by impaired capabilities in flexibility/delivery; quality; and the value of the Made in New Zealand brand especially among consumer goods producers. Stay at home firms reported fears of lowered quality; country loyalty; and their Made in New Zealand country of origin brand.

Practical implications

Offshoring begins tentatively but many firms then increase their offshoring to reap the benefit of lower labour costs. These reasons for “backshoring” mirror those given for keeping production in New Zealand and must be given careful consideration by firms considering offshoring.

Originality/value

There are few studies of offshoring by smaller manufacturers and none that have elucidated this as a process, one that is still avoided by many and can end in costly “backshoring” for others.

Details

Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8297

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 February 2008

Dmitrij Slepniov and Brian Vejrum Waehrens

This paper is concerned with the realisation process of offshore outsourcing activities. The authors seek to understand the dynamic effects facing companies launching offshore

1845

Abstract

Purpose

This paper is concerned with the realisation process of offshore outsourcing activities. The authors seek to understand the dynamic effects facing companies launching offshore outsourcing initiatives and to identify different types of mitigating efforts, which companies instigate to deal with these.

Design/methodology/approach

Two exploratory case studies are developed based on interviews, documents, and site visits.

Findings

The paper builds an understanding of patterns emerging from offshore outsourcing paths developments and discusses their organisational implications. It is proposed that the decision to dispatch standardised production tasks to parties overseas has implications over and beyond the initial intentions, which challenge the strategic scope and operationalisation of inter‐unit roles and responsibilities.

Practical implications

The paper suggests that the process, and particularly the mitigation‐oriented agency that take place as the process unfolds throughout the company, deserves a more significant space in future research of how companies learn to deal with outsourcing relationships. From this key lessons for practitioners are outlined, which prompt managers to work with the emerging realities of outsourcing relationships.

Originality/value

The study of the offshore outsourcing process is based on two in‐depth case studies providing rich illustrations of the process dynamics and how companies may start to work with these.

Details

Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8297

Keywords

Expert briefing
Publication date: 4 May 2016

Rising output from the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about 16% of total US production, will help offset some of the falling output from onshore shale projects, although…

1 – 10 of over 6000